Twisting a Story
by Gemleaf
Summary: When a group of women are rumored to be looking for three of the ancient scriptures, there is pressure for the Sanzo party to go look for them - if only to ask them why they'd do something so stupid.


It was a cold, gray morning. The rains had just stopped, and the city nearly felt fresh, renewed. One of those days where she could nearly smile, even as the clouds depressed everyone around her. "Hey, it'll be okay!" she says, "It'll get warmer soon, and then we can all go out and have fun!"

Her smile... was damn infectious. Some disease that took over anyone who sat near her, cause she sure as hell didn't feel like it. "A-ha! There it is! Told ya, Aya~" ears perking, tail swishing, the cat was her usual happy self. Ayame, however, felt more like slipping into a dark oblivion of sleep. But she would at least smile, if only for Ily, whose spirits could just as easily be knocked down as they rose - especially when a friend was unhappy. Those who didn't know her would blame immaturity, but she knew that Ily was just too full of empathy, sensing a mood and following it.

Ayame simply combed through her wiry, tightly-curled hair and shrugged. "Yeah, okay, Kit-kit." Ily stuck her tongue out at that. Around them, the bench was safe from the stagnant puddles formed at the edges of streets. Crack! Only a few buildings away, a couple of men screamed horrible things as they shattered a window. Her arm tightly around the other's, she pulled her away, both breaking out into a run. "There's gonna be trouble, kit-kat, let's get out of here!" Passing abandoned stores, the two finally found their way to a subway station.

"To think that's where we used to wait for the bus as kids..." Ears flattening, she shuddered, "He's right... I am lucky, right?"

Confused, Ayame tilted her head, but grinned soon after, "Hey we're okay, now. Maybe you are lucky! A good-luck charm for everyone, that's what you are!"

...

She woke up exhausted, but was relieved to find her friend still by her side, asleep. Dawn was just beginning to peek out over the trees, a ring of pink, blue, and red surrounding the clearing's sky. Naturally, only Masuyo was awake, showing signs of never having slept in the first place. Ayame grinned sleepily, "If you're both an early riser and a night owl, that just means you don't sleep, right?"

The woman sighed, dark rings, as noticeable as the bright dawn, around her eyes. "You know that ain't my thing, Aya." Masuyo wasn't a nice person. There, she said it. Curt and blunt, she always seemed to either not say enough, say precisely the wrong thing, or completely ignore day to day conversation. Most of the time, she fell into the last or first category. "Oh whatever," she began to stare at the sky, wondering if the woman really did like sunrises. "We're gonna have to pack up, soon. I'll wake up Izanami and Ily."

"She ain't gonna like that, Aya." Masuyo pulled out a pipe from her satchel, chewing the handle absentmindedly, "Fuck, out of tobacco."

Soon, the two stumbled out of their blankets, mumbling to themselves about how early it was. Izanami, however, would remain in the fog for a few more hours. Ily fully awakened at an alarming pace. Her silver hair was quickly brushed through, and she was soon bouncing about the campsite. "Guys, what should we do today? I wonder if we'll see a village! OooOOooooh! Is that a squirrel? I bet it is!"

For some reason, a cold, slimy feeling of guilt pressed itself into her stomach when she saw that cat. But Ayame couldn't remember why - something to do with that dream, she figured. Izanami, who pitched her own tent, as she liked to sleep in the nude, was fitting her fetish-y corset and leggings in front of everyone, with no regards to decency. "Help me tie this, Ily."

Sure enough, she bounced over to her side, tying the highly strange and impractical outfit as she hummed an old pop song. Izanami had a sense of... theatrics. And it never showed any clearer than in her dress style. A sleeveless, leather top - dark leather pants, boots and arm-length gloves. A chain wrapped around her shoulder. This all nearly distracted from her starkly red hair, and deep red eyes. But nothing could remove that as a "mark" for what she was. Izanami embraced it, without hesitation - but she knew others weren't as lucky.

A light pack over Ayame's shoulders (which it had been her turn to carry), and they were off, heading towards the main path. Most of the time, besides the occasional roving lunatic, they mainly went through without attack. After all, only certain people knew of their task, and it would remain that way unless the cat decided to strike up a conversation about it to someone. It's been a week, and they've made it through okay so far. And yes, the narrator is only mentioning this because a decidedly large band of demons were heading their way.

And, without a doubt, the man and his friends who were blocking access to the road, were not at all friendly. He smirked. "Looks like we have some precious looking meat."

Masuyo walked to the front - shoulders back, indignant that they'd even consider her to be afraid of them. "Out of the way."

For a moment, they were taken aback. But the leader only let that self-indulgent smirk grow larger. He swaggered over closer to her, looking the woman up and down. "Wait, you're a chick? Baby, you'd probably taste so good, if you didn't dress like that. It makes me want to tear those clothes off, just so I could remind you that you're a girl..." He was getting too close, his breath sour.

ACK! Blood frothed from his mouth. He heaved, trying to regain his breath. It was as though all of the air was crushed out of him. Masuyo rubbed her fist, "Let me rephrase that: Don't fuck with me, dipshit." Ayame couldn't help but grin, if only a little. It never got old, seeing their reaction. That ivy-haired woman may be a cold jerk, but she was badass to the extreme. The kind of woman they only talked about on the news, or in stories. The demon man angrily clutched at his stomach, wiping the last of the blood, "Oh, I thought I'd go easy on such sweet looking snacks, but you know what, I'll tear you limb FROM LIMB!" claws extended, he tackled Izanami, obviously leaving the scary one for his bigger guys. Poor choice, to say the least.

Izanami didn't carry around the chain for show. She whispered words to herself, and the metal glowed with heat and danger. Even with the magical protections, her right hand was covered in calluses. It wrapped around the man's chest, his body was ash in seconds. It faded soon after. She wasn't in the fashion of strangling people, so she pulled out a long knife from a satchel on her leg, plunging it into the next demon who attacked her.

Ayame kneed one in the abdomen. It's claws nearly around her throat, she grabbed hold of a wrist. With a sudden move, the arm cracked. The demon yowled in pain. She moved away from a swing, and lunged for his neck, a dagger against his throat. Meanwhile, Masuyo shot things. But when she wasn't, she was using the pistol as a blunt object, almost savagely bludgeoning all who threatened her. Only Ily had a bit of grace in her fighting. A katana in her hand, she seemed to be dancing. But the illusion faded when the last of them fell, in one piece or many.

"What a shame. Poor bastards went mad with douche." Izanami gently nudged a body with the end of a heel, tempted to check their pockets for something useful. Classiness overruled her criminal instincts. "Well, we'd better get going, guys. When they come in numbers this large, there's more to follow." Ayame nodded in agreement. They had to keep moving, regardless - each day, they grew closer to the some sort of cataclysm, a sort that they themselves didn't even bother to understand. Urgency fell over them once more.

"Yeah."

Ily remained silent, clearly zoning out as the others spoke. Ayame tapped her on the shoulder, "Hey, kit-kat, come on." Hesitantly, she put the sword away.

...

"What the hell? We don't hunt down women we've never heard about or seen before."

The old man sighed, "Just find them- and talk to them, if possible. They're being sent to do something stupid, and the lot of them are either too desperate or too apathetic to give a shit."

Sanzo paused. "Then please, just explain to me what monumentally stupid thing they're doing that requires my immediate attention."

He smirked, in a sort of infuriating way, "They're looking to combine three of the scriptures."

...

So, this is majorly AU. The original characters, I will keep in character - but the overall plot and situations are completely different. Yes, demons are going crazy. But for a reason different than in the anime. All canon backstories are the same.


End file.
